Tuluming - Jan 15
I woke up several times during this morning, not sure what a reasonable hour is anymore. Once we started moving around a bit, Jan decided he was still too sick to be doing many things. So, Leif and I decided to set out for the Gran Cenote on some rented bikes. The bikes cost 100 pesos to rent for 24 hours and since the taxi ride to the cenote is 50 pesos we figured why not. The ride to the cenote felt a little dangerous because we, being white Canadians, were exposed to the sun for quite a while. Fortunately we made it without becoming the crispy critters we expected to become. I forgot the memory card to my camera but I took some shots with my phone. Tom was there! Tom is our English dorm mate. He’s an alright dude if you ask me. Leif and I snorkeled around, chilled out with Tom, and generally relaxed at the cenote until about 2pm. We left with Tom, checked on Jan, who still wasn’t feeling up to getting up, and grabbed some dinner wiht Tom. When we returned, Jan was so down for getting up.
We caught a taxi to the beach. This beach is awesome, however, I again forgot to put the memory card back in my camera so you’ll just have to imagine a gorgeous white sand beach with and view in either direction of pure blish and enchantment. Shouldn’t be too hard. After body surfing for a while we decided to search for some beach beers. During the walk, we got far enough up the beach to actually see the ruins, though being able to see the ruins is not like seeing them up close. We took a few turns here and there until we eventually came across this cool looking beach music setup. We planted our butts in some seats and began relaxing with some Coronas and electronic music into the night.
At 10pm the music stopped so we left that area, walked along the beach, lost a sandal (Tom) and got a taxi back to the hostel. I got a chance here to speak with the taxi driver in Spanish. It went pretty well I think, despite having six beers in me. Once we got back, we chilled in some hammocks, got interrupted by what I can only describe as a naked, drunk, Scandinavian, cannonball diving, nuisance, fell asleep, and stumbled into bed.
On the Road Again - Jan 16
Saturday was another moving day. Leif and I returned our bikes and we all, including Tom, managed to pack up our stuff and check out in a reasonable amount of time. We walked over to the ADO station and bought tickets for the bus to Merida at 13:35. The bus ride was smooth and easy and a little longer four hours long.
Once in Merida, Raul and Alex came by to pick us up and drive us to the hostel where the guys would be staying. Despite the sickness that had afflicted Tom, everyone managed to squish into the car. Raul, Alex, and I bought a few things for the birthday party of Raul’s mom and him. Raul’s birthday is on Wednesday. We hung out and talked until 10pm when the party officially started, though many people didn’t show up until much later than that. Mexicans party late, fair warning. But first we picked up Claudia!
During the party I got the chance to do a lot of listening practice. I met more doctors and friends and had a great time, even getting off my sorry ass and doing a shortened version of the electric slide and one point. After all was said and done, and I didn’t have to make anymore awkward attempts at singing which ever version of the Mexican Happy Birthday song they used (which, by the way, is way more inventive than the English one. Think about how many words there actually are in that song, it’s not good at all), we said goodnight to everyone and drove Claudia home. By the time I got to bed it was 4am. 4am.
Taking the Scenic Route - Jan 17
I woke up at 10am from my hammock, since every house in the Yucatan has hooks for setting up hammocks indoors, I realized I couldn’t move my neck without some pain so I decided to stay still for a while. Then Raul and I left, picked up Alex and they dropped me off at the Nomadas hostel where the guys were staying. Thanks Raul and Alex, once again you’ve been awesome. I hope I can see you again when I return to fly back to Canada!
After a hasty check in and a bit of a rush Leif, Jan, and I met their friend Vicky at a plaza. She owns what she calls a “Mexican Bomb”, describing the look and condition of her car. She drove us around town and eventually to Parque Zoológico Animaya. This place was actually pretty cool. I saw some animals I’ve never seen before including giraffes, lions, flamingos, and others that I don’t know the names of. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to go up the tower because the line up was too long. Oh well. We grabbed some Nutella and cheese marquesitas on our way out as a consolation prize.
Vicky then drove us through this small town to get to a cenote which was unfortunately closed, we think because it’s winter but we’re not sure on that one. After grabbing some food, Vicky’s car began behaving a bit strangely, I couldn’t tell what was wrong but she dropped us at a bus station to get back to our hostel. We did that, just in a bit of a strange way. I say a strange way but what I mean is that we got off at a stop about 30 minutes walking distance from the hostel. Scenic indeed.
At the hostel, Tom was now feeling better from his sickness. I do not envy Jan or Tom at this point for having “gotten it out of the way.” Then we met Gonzalo. This guy is grade A cool. A guy from Mexico City traveling in his own country to get to know his own people. He speaks fluent English and we got along famously. We all played card games and learned that, on Sundays, Merida stops selling beer at 5pm. I met a guy in our room named Eugene and the six of us went to the main plaza to get some food. Merida Fest is going on this month which is cool because we get to see the main plaza lit up with lights, music, and people. We managed to buy some beers to go at the restaurant we ate at and continued playing card games at the hostel.
Around 11pm Tom, Gonzalo, and I went out to a pub that we passed on the walked back to the hostel. We began the real drinking there. After a shot of mezcal, we danced with this group of women who were celebrating the bacherlorette party of one of the girls. One of them taught me a few new dance moves. After a beer and a shot of tequila, we left with the girls to another pub with more live music. I had a blast at this place with Tom and Gonzalo. I also had a lot of fun watching the reaction from all the girls I talked with that didn’t realize I spoke half decent Spanish and know a bunch of Mexican slang words. Such fun. By the end of it all it was quite late and we had definitely drank too many things. While we walked back to the hostel Gonzalo offered to be our tour guide in Mexico City so I’m excited to meet him there in a week or two.
The Locals Guide to Merida - Jan 18
After arranging it with Claudia the other day, she met up with us at the hostel for a walking tour of Merida. I was stoked for this day. The city is cool, our guide is cool, and my friends are cool too. Claudia, Leif, Tom and I set out. Claudia showed us a few markets that she frequents often, usually just to hang out but also to buy some things on the cheap. The markets have a lot of appeal and character to them. Some also have a lot sights and smells, good or bad. The markets were crowded at times but as long as Leif was standing somewhat straight up, it was hard to get lost.
We checked out the church at the main plaza which is an impressive building that has a large scale crucifixion at the front and an organ in the back, high ceilings, and tourists. We went around and into a few government buildings, one of which had a lot of violent paintings hung up, though I supposed all of them represent key moments in the history of Merida and Mexico in general. We also got to see the administrative building of main university in Merida: UADY. Unvervisidad Autonoma de Yucatan. It’s an impressive and peaceful place.
Fun bit: we got some ice cream and I tried to make sure Claudia didn’t pay for hers. I’m not sure how much Mexican tour guides get tipped or payed but I figured 36 pesos would be well under the average. I don’t think Mexicans like it when you try to pay for their stuff while in Mexico. It’s hard to tell but I wouldn’t have been surprised if she gave me a jab in the face. She managed to give the waiter a tip though, so I failed. In a sense, though, I think I succeeded as I think I hear Claudia’s fist clenching in embarrassment from reading this blog post.
Lastly we walked to Avenida Montejo, the main road in Merida. Look up the Montejo family for info on the that because I didn’t do any research and have no information for you. We walked all the way down, popping into a historical house or two as we went. Then we walk around the Monumento a la Bandera and parted ways with Claudia after she gave us directions to the bus. She was worried at the start about showing us around but she did a great job despite what she thinks. Here’s a shot of her dropping some knowledge on Tom. Thanks for the tour Clau!
Once we got back to the hostel we grabbed a cheap lunch, which could not have come sooner as the hangover was beginning to take hold of me. Then we went into relaxation mode, full siesta style.
Tomorrow we make for Chichen Itza, stay tuned.